TechFest 4 has ended.  SuperTech Brian Carty of Advanced Electronics Systems (see their website at http://gamingstuff.com) gave an excellent presentation on the Seiko printer on the first day of TechFest 4 and another on MEI bill validators on day two.

A big Slot Tech Thank You to Don Seagle of Asahi Seiko for sharing his expertese on hopper repair on day one
.

Michael Harris of Coin Mechamisms, Inc. cracks up the class during his presentation on Coin Comparators. 

Technical presentations can really be a lot of fun when you loosen up. We had a lot of fun today during day two. We ate a lot of candy too, generously provided by MEI (Mars, you know, the CANDY people).

The TechFest was held at Grand Casino Mille Lacs in Onamia, MN . Click on the link above for location details.

The TechFest is geared for working slot techs and technical managers who are looking for a way to make a dramatic improvement in their understanding of video slot monitors, touchscreens, bill validators, hoppers and more with no-nonsense technical presentations from:

Asahi Seiko
Coin Mechanisms, Inc.
MEI Bill Validators
Seiko Printers
Sencore
JCM <---- Presented by Tom Talbot, this is the most interesting and informative presentation on bill validators that you will ever see. - rf

Tom Talbot of JCM presented a detailed discussion of their WBA bill validator, including cleaning and troubleshooting procedures. He also brought along a hundred pounds of coveted items such as pocket screwdrivers, flashlights, flip charts and, of course, "nerd-packs" (AKA pocket protectors).

Comments from TechFest participants (edited for brevity):

I attended Tech Fest 4, and I would just like to say for those out there who are not sure if it's worth going or not - GO!  I have been to a few other training classes over my 5 plus years as a Slot Tech but never one that included so much simply devoted to the Techs themselves. The way that Randy Fromm explained how to work on monitors was so great I felt as if I could have held a class on it afterwords.  When other reps came in to show things, such as JCM, Sencore, Coin Mech, etc., Randy Fromm did a great job at keeping the classes flowing as well as keeping the terms at a novice level such that a rookie Slot Tech could keep up.  It was also great to talk with other Slot Techs from around the region and see what ideas they had about common problems. 

Thank you! 
Sean Brunette, 
Evansville, IN 

I want to thank you for attending TechFest 4. It was a pleasure meeting you all. I am especially proud to have met Jeff Medicine Horse and John Thunderhawk from Prairie Knights Casino. I look forward to seeing you again some time.

I consider the TechFest team of presenters to be the very best that the gaming industry has to offer and I congratulate them all for their outstanding efforts at TechFest 4. Thank you to: Don Seagle - Asahi Seiko, Brian Carty - Advanced Electronics Systems, Inc (on behalf of Seiko and MEI), Michael Harris - Coin Mechanisms, Inc., Gary Moranville - Sencore and Tom Talbot from JCM.

I thank you for your support of Slot Tech Magazine and TechFest. I hope you have gained a lot of useful information during the three short days we had together. Try not to let the smoke out.

If you have any comments about TechFest 4, please send them to:
comments@slot-techs.com

Best regards to you all,

Randy Fromm - October 24, 2002

Hi Randy,

We recently sent six of our slot technicians to TechFest 4 in Minneasota. They all enjoyed and learned new things. I am interested in holding a training session at our site for approximately 20 technicians. Any info you can provide me with will be greatly appreciated.

Nikki

Note from Randy Fromm: I hold a two-week training program for slot techs called "Casino School." It's an electronics training program with an emphasis on power supply and monitor repair. The program can be customized to suit your casino's needs and can include training on just about anything you'll find in your casino. For more information, click here. - rf

Randy,

First off, I'd like to thank you for a great event. It was nice to attend something that wasn't all sales and actually passed along knowledge. You wanted comments, so here are mine:

Your theory of monitor operation classes were all tops. My protege' from [Dubuque Greyhound Park & Casino] and I really enjoyed your way of presenting such a dry topic. I actually understood more from your discussions than I picked up at electronics school.

(snip) - This is where Vaughn makes some constructive suggestions about how to improve TechFest. - ed.

Not enough time was alloted for Tommy Talbot [JCM]. I felt his presentation was exceptionally good relating a lot of information. Both Tommy and I picked up some good stuff.

Thanks again for the opportunity to attend!

Good Luck,
Vaughn Kray

I would like to thank Randy Fromm for making this type of training available to the growing number of Slot Technicians. It is obvious from the number of attendees at each of the Tech Fests that there is a growing Interest and benefits to be derived from this type of training seminar. Being able to talk one on one with the "experts" helps to resolve particular maintenance problems, concerns or to clarify issues.

As Training Manager for Slot Repair, the normal situation for new hires is to start at a point where they have essentially no knowledge of gaming equipment to a level of proficiency where they have a good understanding of how slot machines operate and are capable of repairing common minor repairs on the gaming floor. Eventually to the point where they are capable of troubleshooting and overhauling the subassemblies in the shop.

One of the training subjects that I feel deserves a little more time is Bill Acceptors. The presentation by Tom Talbot was excellent, but what about all the other type of bill acceptors that are commonly used. Understanding the basic principles of bill acceptors, common problems of each and solutions is essential to correcting bill acceptor head, transport, and cashbox failures. Machine problems in the future will gradually shift from coin comparator and hopper problems to bill acceptors and thermal ticket printers.

Just food for thought!

Thanks again
Dana Spiekermann
Mystic Lake Casino, MN.